Page 67 of Brooklyn Bratva

“These men you no argue with, Becya.”

As much as I hated the thought of it, for the time being, I had to agree. No way was I going to be a part of bringing Ivan down. I took a deep breath, looking off towards the start of the boardwalk, where I knew Ivan was waiting for me.

“Okay. I’ll keep it to myself until we can figure this out. But we’ve got to do something.”

Mama drew me into a hug and pressed a kiss against my cheek.

“You are good girl. I see you later.”

CHAPTER 33

Ivan

A couple of hours after breakfast, I got a call from Maxim, demanding I meet him with my car. I agreed to pick him up in the multistory out towards Coney Island.

It would have been easier to sign out one of the unmarked cars in the station lot, but it was always dangerous to blur the lines between my worlds. So I took my own, and hoped that whatever he had in mind wasn’t something that could get back to me via my plate number.

I had the engine idling, and he was late. I felt like a goddamn taxi driver.

“I come bearing gifts,” Max announced, yanking open the rear passenger door. I glanced over my shoulder just as he strong-armed a man with a bag taped over his head into the back seat of the car.

“The fuck is this?”

My heart rate picked up a notch, but I didn’t let my features so much as twitch. He’d just walked a man with a bag over his head through the middle of a parking garage. He was going to bring my world crashing down around my ears.

“This is the answer to all your problems, my friend. You don’t have to thank me now.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? This place has cameras. I’m a cop for fucksake.”

“And I’m a professional. Don’t insult me. The camera’s are off. No one saw me. Come on. Let’s go.”

I scowled at him, my knuckles tense on the wheel. “Who’s this?”

“This is the man who put a bullet in your shoulder. Isn’t that right, Ruslan? You’ve been a very bad man. It’s gone a bit far for a slap across the knuckles and going over the rules again, though. You’re fresh out of luck on that front, my friend.”

A muffled mmph and a muted, nasal whine from the inside of the bag told me Max had taped his mouth closed.

I shot a look at Maxim.

“No wet work in my district. You’re going to fuck up my statistics.”

The man’s eyes narrowed minutely. “Only if someone finds the body. No one finds a Toropov corpse. It’s a point of pride. I didn’t think Timoshenko was right, but you really don’t want to get your hands dirty anymore, do you?”

“I’m running a tight ship here. Squeaky fucking clean.”

“The point is you’re supposed to do the housekeeping, not that no one ever makes a mess, Ivan.”

“Thanks for the tip, Max. I can manage my own business without you.”

“You’re not managing anything. You’re coasting along on the arrangements you set up years ago. And those arrangements are crumbling.”

“Shut the fuck up. Take the bag off his head or shove a blanket over him.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to a different precinct, that’s why. Didn’t anybody ever tell you not to shit in your own backyard?”

—

There was a warehouse out in Gravesend that I knew was abandoned, and with few enough neighbors that whatever happened, we wouldn’t have an audience. All we needed was a bit of anonymity and a good half hour. We could get everything we needed.

I slammed Ruslan down on top of an old packing crate. Behind me, Max took his time fitting a silencer to his gun. He was clearly a man who took a great deal of care over what he did.

I ripped the duct tape off Ruslan’s mouth and he let out a shout as it took the top layer of skin off his lips.

“I didn’t kill your friend!”

“I don’t believe you, Ruslan. It seems pretty clear to me. I found you picking up the phones. You went after Mehmet because you knew his place was my operation base, and you thought you could threaten me.”

Ruslan shook his head. “No. That’s not how it is.”

“Tell me how it is.”

Max rolled his eyes, but he lowered his gun all the same. “I think that’s exactly how it is, Ivan. The slimy bastard’s trying to bullshit you.” He pulled on a pair of gloves. “You’re about to find out that you can’t threaten Russians. Mate.”

“After you saw me, I ran. We got into that fight.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “You mean you shot me.”

Ruslan winced. “Yes. But I didn’t mean to. I panicked.”

Max looked at me, one brow raised. “He panicked. I must panic a hell of a lot.”

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